Sean O’Brien, the brilliant Irish back-row, is primed to make his mark for his
country, says Gavin Mairs

Sean O’Brien. Remember the name. If the Leinster back-row forward does not yet enjoy a high profile beyond the shores of Ireland, there is a good chance he will be a household name across the home unions by the end of the RBS Six Nations Championship.

The Carlow-born 23 year-old has, quite simply, been the outstanding player of the Heineken Cup pool stages, one of the main reasons the Irish province finished as the second-best ranked side in the quarter-finals from a pool that contained heavyweight opposition in Saracens, Clermont Auvergne and Racing Metro.

O’Brien, playing his first full Heineken Cup campaign, scored four tries as Leinster won five out of their six pool matches, with his ball-carrying and phenomenal work rate earning him his first start for Ireland against Samoa last November. The Amlin Opta match statistics for Leinster’s victory over Saracens at the RDS Arena in Dublin in January reveal just what a potent attacker he has become in a side which includes such forces of nature as Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, Luke Fitz-gerald and Isa Nacewa.

O’Brien made 21 carries in the 43-20 victory over Saracens for a total of 112m, and he beat five defenders in scoring his try as well as creating a try for back-row colleague Dominic Ryan with a gain-line breaking burst.

The biggest challenge now for O’Brien, who, unlike most in the Leinster side, broke into the professional ranks after coming through junior club rugby rather than from the famed supply line of the top rugby schools in Dublin, is to break into the formidable Ireland back row of Stephen Ferris, David Wallace and Jamie Heaslip.

Former Ireland fly-half Tony Ward is in no doubt that O’Brien’s time has come, staring with Declan Kidney’s side’s opener against Italy on Feb 5. “The Tullow man simply must run out in Rome for the opening Six Nations joust, with the back-row position his to lose after that,” he wrote recently.

“On the simple premise of form, he’s a shoo-in. Nor can there be any counter-argument as regards balance, with a Ferris/O’Brien/Jamie Heaslip trio picking itself, leaving either David Wallace or Denis Leamy as cover for all three positions on the bench.”

Further evidence of O’Brien’s emergence as one of the most exciting young back-row forwards in Europe came in the form of strong interest from France before Christmas.

The Irish Rugby Football Union, keen to ensure they did not lose such a precocious talent, moved quickly and O’Brien agreed a new three-year deal with Leinster in January.

“While it was flattering to have interest from overseas, I desperately want to be part of the Leinster story for the foreseeable future,” said O’Brien.

His mercurial rise is made more remarkable by the fact that it did not follow a traditional path. As a boy he excelled at Gaelic football before rugby came to dominate his life.

He grew up in Ardristan, County Carlow, was educated at Tullow Community School and played his rugby for Tullow RFC before representing Ireland Youths, the representative side drawn from Irish clubs, not those players at affiliated schools.

O’Brien won three caps for Ireland Youths, captaining the side to a win over Scotland and a defeat by England. His performances were of such quality that he immediately attracted Leinster’s scouts and was offered an academy contract.

“I really enjoyed my experience there in 2003, the Ireland Youth side is a fantastic thing, a chance for those who are not in the schools system,” O’Brien recalls. “The side was coached by Lenny Brown and Wille Gribbin, and I think we were all aware that this was a set-up that could produce players who might go a long way in the game.

“Trevor Brennan and Shane Horgan came through this way, while more recently Niall Ronan played with the Irish Youths.”

O’Brien cites former Leinster and Ireland No 8 Victor Costello, and former Ulster and Ireland lock Paddy Johns as the two players who inspired him to follow his dream for playing for Ireland. His first start came last November when he replaced the 34-year-old Wallace in the side that defeated Samoa.

While O’Brien has recently been operating at No 8 for Leinster during Heaslip’s absence as he struggles with an ankle injury, he insists he would be happy to operate at open side flanker and has spent hours on the training paddock working hard on his contribution at the breakdown.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has a tough decision to take, with many believing that O’Brien is finally

ready to replace the formidable Wallace.

“I would be very happy at seven, it is just the matter of getting an opportunity,” O’Brien says. “Ball-carrying is one of my strengths, but I have been working on the breakdown in trying to cause havoc by getting back on my feet quickly.

“It hasn’t been hard to stay patient, but it’s not like I’m at the end of my career. I’m young and have been picking up experience the whole time. Even when training with those lads you’re learning.

“You have to stay patient. If you get down because you’re not getting an opportunity then it can affect your game. I’m happy with the way my game’s gone and I have to back it up every week.”